MerryHearted

a) 70 gm of protein is not horribly excessive but it's more than the daily recommendation, which is around 46 to 50 gms. The center I went to recommends NO SHAKES (once you get past the liquid/soft stage right after surgery and are eating normally, that is). Liquid calories, except for up to 16 oz of milk a day, are just out, period. My guess about the morning shake, and you can ask your doctor about this, is that many bandsters are super tight in the morning; too tight to eat solid food without getting stuck or horking. That varies from person to person though, so you'd want to eat solids if you are able. The protein + veggies recommendation sounds standard. It's your life though. You choose. I think the saying is, if you follow 80% of the guidelines, 80% of the time, you'll be successful. i.e. most people don't give up dessert forever, rather they choose to have a small amount once in awhile. Same with bread (which a lot of people get stuck on), or alcohol Best wishes on your sugery and new lifestyle!!

metformin - Pill Identification Wizard | Drugs.com Are they the round ones, or the oval? They look to be the same dose, so if it's one shape that's getting stuck, can you check w/your pcp to see if they can prescribe the other shape (maybe just a few pills to try it), or if there's another pill that does the same thing but has a smaller pill or can be broken? I'm not too tight, but I am tighter than I was when I last replied to this thread, and I do have issues from time to time. Hot Water or tea sure helps, both before and after, and not lying down right after taking something (let gravity help). Hope you are able to work it out without having to get an unfill.

I am one of those people who can't go to sleep when I'm physically hungry. I'll just lie there and roll around while my body complains. So if it's 4+ hrs between dinner and bedtime, I usually have to indulge in a nibble. Calorie-wise, I just plan for it. But ever since my bout with reflux when I was on oral steroids, I do try to avoid eating immediately before lying down. An hour beforehand seems to work well for me.

Success, as far as I'm concerned. I'm not to goal yet, but where I'm at is a whole lot better than where I was. Plus without the band I'd still be gaining via the old dieting yo-yo routine. So: no regrets here, at almost 3 yrs out. And I do plan to eventually make it to goal. With how far I've come already, I know that it's possible. Good luck making your decision!

Seems like it to me -- almost like the doc was retaliating because he was upset. But then, I wasn't there, so who knows. Maybe that's normal for him -- if you have a big band and are super loose, maybe he has found with experience that people need a certain amount before they have restriction?

Getting your fill right is a tweaking process for everyone, so don't sweat it. I don't think your doc should have gotten upset with you for losing weight, even if it wasn't as fast as he would have liked. Has he been doing bands for very long? It just seems odd, as that sort of loss would have been greeted with "great job!" at the clinic I go to. 15 lbs in 10 weeks is excellent. You are doing fantastic and will succeed at this! And it now sounds like you are pretty tight. Watch out for reflux and for pbing too often -- better to lose more slowly with the band not quite so tight than to be too tight and end up with a slipped band or damage from the reflux. (imho anyway )

Jenny, if it makes you feel any better, my doc is also very against gastric bypass surgery but he is pro-band. All of his patients who have had gastric bypass have had serious complications resulting in hospitalization somewhere down the line. His patients who have had the band (including me) have been doing great. I'm hitting my 3 yr anniversary in a month. I don't regret getting the band at all. I'm not at goal, either. But I'll get there eventually. For me there are head issues involved that have been a struggle. I still feel like the band has been successful for me -- I'd probably weigh around 350 right now if I hadn't gotten it. Weighing 190 is wayyyy better, even if I still have another 50-70 lbs to lose. I'm sorry you're stuck going through the 6-month monitored weight loss thing. But I'm sure you'll be even more determined to get banded by the end of that ordeal.

Grrrr... TickerFactory doesn't seem to be working, so I guess I can't update my ticker. I'm still struggling but at least my weight went down this week. 10 lbs to go by Labor Day... Name_____________Weight Now____Goal_____lbs lost aJoneen............230.........220.......3....... Bea1128............220.........199.......3.5..... Babs0101...........185.........170.......0....... blesdbyonmzur......159.........148.......4....... BTTRFLI1432........221.........210.......0....... Bunkey1965.........205.........195.......7....... Chocolate_Snaps....260.........240.......0....... Darr5380...........170.........150.......0....... Epm316.............209.........199.......0....... erikadawn..........199.........175.......0....... FloridaGirl........235.........215.......0....... HeatherO...........165.........155.......7....... JennyPoo...........169.........159.......0....... KarenG.............164.........158.......2....... KathyStrick........305.........290.......0....... Lapbandfan.........260.........230.......0...... Leslie2Lose........219.........209.......5....... LessNLess..........144.5.......140.......0....... LilMissBand-Aid....239.........225.......1....... Lunabeane..........212.........200.......9....... Luu2008............219.........189.......9....... Luv2Laugh..........232.........212.......0....... luvinke............206.........190.......0....... mamato3............199.........184.......6...... mcgreen............189.........175.......0....... mdgarcia31665......225.........200.......0....... MollyMolly.........192.........182.......2....... mominlv13..........308.2.......300.......7.8..... MSnika3............228.........204.......4....... NANAbanded.........225.........199.......4....... Ninja..............204.........189.......5....... NukeChik...........221.........199.......6....... Ollie..............242.........210.......0....... Redtulips..........189.5.......180.......4.5..... Renewedhope........176.........155.......3....... ronni_NC...........243.........220.......0....... slgandera..........185.........173.......7....... StartingOver.......220.........205.......5....... Sunshine2..........187.........170.......2.3..... want_so_bad........170.........155.......0....... Sades..............186.........180.......6.5..... Sadie..............216.........199.......4.......

What time zone? You are going to do just fine, don't worry!

I don't have any problems with fruits like those. Nowadays I do peel my apples though, and if I were to eat fresh pineapple I'd want to cut it into very small pieces first because its so fibrous. No problem with nuts, but I don't eat them very often or very many at a time.

I'm assuming you are in the liquids or mushies stage, since you mention Protein shakes. Don't forget that milk has a decent amount of protein in it -- you can do cream Soups made with nonfat milk. My fave is Tomato. Also, I'm not sure what you are using for "protein shakes" -- you can also do Meal Replacement shakes or something like Carnation Instant Breakfast, which might taste better. This phase only lasts a few weeks, so don't sweat it. Once you are on solids you don't need Protein Shakes anymore. You'll get enough protein from eating normal food.

The band being "fickle" is normal; many people have this issue. You just have to roll with it -- try to stick to eating your pre-planned amount of food when you are too loose. The other issue is a problem for most long-term bandsters: thing like ice cream, chocolate, chips and Cookies go down easily while food choices like chicken and veggies have a harder time going down. This becomes a matter of choice, since the band will not solve the problem. We have to put aside junk food and eat healthy food most of the time to lose & maintain weight. Not probably all that helpful, I know. I'll commiserate with you that it can be hard at times to stick to healthy food!

They asked me to bring mine but then it was never used. I'm on my 12-yr anniversary of getting a cpap and wow, has it ever made a difference. And yes, I was utterly miserable at first. I had panic attacks from having to wear the mask -- it just freaked me out. I used the ramp-up feature on my machine for awhile, too. It's terrific to get a good night's sleep though!! I'm hoping I eventually get to a weight where I don't need it, but I know even back when I was a size 12 in my early twenties that I snored like a hog, and I was in my normal weight range then. So I'm guessing I'm either going to have to be at the low end of the normal weight range to get rid of this thing, or I'll be stuck with it long term. Although as I near goal I might try a dental device instead and see if it works.

Here is the ticker tutorial: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/